So Microsoft's development framework for web applications is in demand.

Is this a good opportunity for home grown IT professionals or will the service providers step in and take the slack.

Karl Deacon, CTO at IT outsourcing giant Capgemini, says he is not aware of a shortage in .Net skills generally but thinks certain subsectors of .Net could have shortages. For example he said Capgemini was recently looking for developers with BizTalk skills but there was a shortage.

It could also be that .Net application in certain sectors is in demand, according to Deacon.